This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV TH SNAP
SUBJECT: TO BE OR NOT TO BE: THAT IS THE THAI SNAP ELECTION 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce. Reason 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Prime Minister Thaksin led his Thai Rak Thai 
party in registering for the April 2 snap election Thursday. 
Only four other fringe parties have followed suit so far, as 
the major opposition parties held to their boycott.  The 
Democrat Party canceled their planned rally at the Royal 
Plaza on Saturday.  Thaksin's rally Friday and the opposition 
People's Alliance for Democracy rally Sunday--both at Sanam 
Luang--are still on.  Local press reported that Thaksin may 
propose a new "social contract" in his speech on Friday; 
according to this account, the PM will vow to dissolve the 
to-be-elected government after 180 days.  That six month 
period would be used to amend the constitution.  The April 2 
election appears far from certain; in addition, due to the 
details of the election law, the opposition boycott could 
succeed in delaying a new government from forming even if 
elections occur.  Septel details the Ambassador's dinner with 
Army Chief Sonthi Boonyaratklin.  End Summary. 
 
THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS REGISTER FOR THE VOTE 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Thaksin led his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party-list 
candidates to formally register on March 2.  The PM, who 
topped the 100 candidate list, reiterated his call for the 
Democrat, Chat Thai and Mahachon parties to reconsider their 
boycott of the election, but the opposition parties held 
firm.  Only four minor parties--none of which won seats in 
the 2005 election--registered along with TRT: Prachakorn 
Thai, Kasetakorn Thai, Phandin Thai and the Palang Prachachon 
parties.  Friday, March 3 will be the last chance for any 
other parties to register. 
 
A NEW OLIVE BRANCH FROM THE PM? 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The PM may yet try to divide the opposition by 
offering new constitutional amendments.  Local press reported 
that Thaksin plans to announce a new "social contract" at his 
rally on Friday.  According to this account, Thaksin will vow 
to dissolve the new parliament 180 days after he forms a new 
government.  Those six months will be spent amending the 
constitution.  Opposition leaders dismissed this idea.  PAD 
leader Suriyasai Katasila told reporters that "the only way 
to solve the current crisis is that Thaksin has to go." 
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjahiva refused to judge the 
proposal, saying "how can we believe his words?" 
 
PREPARING FOR ELECTION DYSFUNCTION 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The opposition parties decided to boycott the election 
in the hopes that their non-participation would destroy the 
legitimacy of the contest and force Thaksin to resign as PM. 
But a close look at the election law suggests that their 
boycott may actually prevent a new government from forming 
anytime soon.  The House is composed of 100 party-list seats 
and 400 constituent seats.  All 500 seats must be filled 
before the new parliament can be seated and a new Prime 
Minister and cabinet selected.  Under an opposition boycott 
scenario, Thai Rak Thai is likely to win the entire slate of 
100 party-list seats.  The constituent seats, however, may 
pose more of a problem. 
 
¶5. (C) In the case of at least two candidates running for a 
constituent seat, a simple plurality wins.  If a candidate 
runs unopposed in an electoral district, however, he/she must 
win at least 20 percent of eligible voters in that district. 
In the 2005 election, TRT drew less than 20 percent of the 
vote in 38 constituencies; the opposition easily won those 
seats.  But with the major opposition parties boycotting the 
contest, TRT will either have to beat their results in all 38 
of those districts, or get one of the minor parties to run a 
candidate in those districts (thus making the 20 percent rule 
inapplicable).  If TRT and a combination of the minor parties 
cannot win all 400 constituent seats, they could not seat the 
House and form a new government.  In this case, a special 
by-election for the unfilled seats would be held a week 
later, and repeated ad infinitum until the seat is filled. 
(Note. In 2001, two rounds of back-to-back voting had to be 
held before a government could be formed. End Note) 
Throughout this saga, Thaksin would remain caretaker Prime 
Minister, but any delay in forming a new government would 
only add to the political uncertainty. 
 
¶6. (C) Our contacts in both the opposition and TRT appear to 
be aware of this possibility and are planning for it.  For 
TRT this means encouraging minor parties to run in these 
tough districts.  Indeed, once a candidate registers to run 
for a constituency seat they cannot, by law, withdraw from 
the contest.  In other words, if TRT can get minor party 
candidates to sign up for the race (and thus preclude TRT 
from having to win more than 20 percent of eligible votes), 
they need not follow through with an expensive campaign.  The 
pool of eligible minor party candidates is limited, however; 
they must have ties to the province they are running in and 
have been a member of their party for 90 consecutive days. 
The opposition, meanwhile, will likely try to cut their own 
deals with potential minor party candidates to keep them from 
running, challenge the credentials of those who do run, and 
work to keep voters at home on election day. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶7. (C) We should have a better feel for the likelihood of a 
delay in forming a new government when candidate registration 
ends on March 8 and we can get a clear headcount of non-TRT 
candidates.  That said, the convoluted scenario above 
supposes a lot; the biggest question is whether the election 
happens at all.  Local journalists, the elite and the 
chattering classes appear increasingly convinced that the 
election will not happen.  But they remain unable to explain 
why or how the vote will be blocked without invoking the 
usual conspiracy theories.  A simple, clear and likely method 
for removing Thaksin remains elusive.  The same could be said 
for his political survival.  For his part, Thaksin remains 
determined to crack the opposition's unity.  His speech 
Friday may win back some hearts and minds, but it will be too 
late in some ways; the deadline for parties to register for 
the election will have passed.  Still, the pomp and 
circumstance of the election preparations are a temporary 
sideshow. All eyes are still focused on this weekend's 
rallies. 
BOYCE